Bath Riverside is set to benefit from a multi-million-pound Government payment which could help the council deliver thousands of more homes.

Bath and North East Somerset Council’s successful bid for the Housing Infrastructure Fund will see £12.5 million spent on the area to get more properties and a primary school built quicker.

The award was announced by Housing Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Phillip Hammond on Friday, February 2 as part of a 133 council-led projects.

B&NES Council leader Tim Warren said: “This announcement is great news for Bath, and represents one of the biggest investments in the country.

What the finished Bath Riverside development will look like

“We are delighted to continue to receive the backing of Homes England with this Housing Infrastructure Fund announcement.

“This will secure the early delivery of more essential infrastructure including the new primary school on the site that is such a key part in strengthening this new community.

“It shows the support and commitment Bath and North East Somerset Council has to our partnership both with the HCA (Homes and Communities Agency, a government body which is now called Homes England) and Crest [Nicholson, the developers behind Bath Riverside].

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“Bath Riverside sits at the heart of our Enterprise Zone and maintaining the supply of new homes is part of this council’s policy to grow a sustainable economy where access to good jobs and homes are both available in the city.”

Some 850 homes have been built or are under construction in Bath Riverside, with 25 per cent being affordable and the funding could see a total of 3,500 being built quicker.

Tim Warren (Image: Artur Lesniak)

This could also bring hundreds of jobs to the city.

The council said the money will fund essential infrastructure to make housing development in the area more viable and will address some of the large up-front costs – enabling more affordable homes to be built.

Councillor Paul Myers, (Conservative, Midsomer Norton Redfield) cabinet member for economic and community regeneration, added: “Bath and North East Somerset Council has an excellent relationship with Homes England and this announcement builds upon a proven track record at Bath Riverside where 850 new homes are now built or under construction with 25 per cent being affordable.

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“This funding will help us achieve our commitment to delivering more housing, broadening the offer in the city and enabling more people access to the housing market.

“Investment in infrastructure like schools, roads and public spaces supports our aims for increasing the supply of housing including affordable homes in the city.”

The curvy Royal View building by Crest Nicholson at Bath Riverside (Image: Artur Lesniak)

Chris Tinker, group board director for major projects and strategic partnerships at Crest Nicholson, said: “I am delighted that Bath and North East Somerset Council, working closely with our project team has been able to secure the HIF funding to unlock the ongoing phases of Bath Riverside.

“This is testimony to the strength of the partnership between the public and private sector on the development, and will underpin the timely delivery of the social and physical infrastructure required to continue to deliver this development.”

Work on the next phase of the project will start in 2019 with more homes being delivered from 2021.

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